Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Gillian has broken through in Bulleen, completing excavation of North East Link’s southbound tunnel.
This officially marks the completion of both 6.5 kilometre tunnels from Watsonia to Bulleen, following TBM Zelda’s breakthrough of the northbound tunnel in May.
Since starting their journeys in late 2024 the TBMs have removed 2.5 million tonnes of rock and dirt and installed more than 43,000 pre-cast tunnel segments, completing the 5.3 kilometre journey for the TBM section of the tunnels.
The TBMs will be dismantled and removed from site, with the parts to be recycled or returned to the manufacturer to reuse.
Of the remaining 1.2 kms of tunnels, road headers have completed a 430m section of the tunnels between Trinity Grammar and Manningham Road using a “mined tunnelling” technique, allowing for 4 lanes to be constructed in each direction in this area.
The interchange sections of tunnel, where the on-and-off ramps are built, make up the final sections of the overall 6.5km tunnels.
With tunnelling complete, focus will now shift to the fit-out stage, preparing the tunnels for use and ready for completion in 2028.
This includes:
- building the road (3 lanes each way) inside the tunnels using approximately 700,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete
- installation of approximately 3,300 kilometres of cabling
- completion of 51 emergency access passages between the tunnels
- above-ground works including Greensborough Road boulevard, new interchange ramps, the Motorway Control Centre in Bulleen, the Yarra Link green bridge in Bulleen, and Borlase Reserve parklands
- completing tunnel entry and exit ramps at Manningham and Yallambie.
Once completed, the North East Link tunnels will fix the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network, and is scheduled to open in 2028.